Dad's Out There
by readwritemm
Summary: Sadie Baldock grew up in the wizarding world hearing stories of the terrible Dark wizard, You-Know-Who, just like any other witch. She went to Hogwarts, leaving behind her family of Gryffindors. It started to get strange when Sadie was Sorted into Slytherin. Why would a good, brave, kind witch join Slytherin? Because she's a descendant of the original Slytherin...and Lord Voldemort
1. Prologue

A/N:

Hi, everyone! Thanks so much for reading this story! I started it because there are ton of "Harry is Voldemort's son" but not very many good "Voldemort has a daughter in Harry's year" stories. Anyways, I'll try to update every week. Thanks!

-MM

Disclaimer: Do I own the Harry Potter books? No. Do I own the Harry Potter movies? No. So I don't own this story, not even Sadie Baldock—she was a character I found on a list of Slytherin characters. I don't own it.

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Prologue:

This is an unknown story that takes place within a story that virtually everyone in the world knows. This is the story that nobody wrote down. This is the story that I experienced, right alongside the main character of that other story. This is the story of me, Sadie Baldock: Slytherin, daughter of Lord Voldemort, and peer—and sort of friend—to Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived.

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I guess I should start this documentation when I was barely five months old. I don't remember it. I don't remember anything about that time. But the rest of the wizarding world does and to the Ministry of Magic, the only thing that matters is what they remember. Of course, they don't remember it the way I do—if I could remember it, that is.

My mum tells me about the horrid day that You-Know-Who came to the Potter's house in Godric Hallow. She tells me that he killed Lily and James Potter and when he tried to kill Harry, little Harry who was only a few months older than me, Harry survived and You-Know-Who didn't. Mum told me that because that's what Mum believed. That's what Mum believed and that's what Dad believed and that's what the "all-knowing" Ministry believed. So it must be true, right? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named must be dead, right?

No.

I didn't know for sure back then, I guess. I listened to the stories like all of my other magical friends and believed myself safe from the Dark Lord. I didn't know who my real father was or that he was just waiting. I was completely normal...until the journal came.

I got it from a hooded figure and it was picked up by a hooded figure. There were two, short sentences scrawled inside of the little book: _"The Dark Lord will return. Dad's out there."_ And while most people would've thought it a cruel, practical joke for a girl who was adopted by half-bloods and didn't know who her real parents were, I was horrified. I believed it. I knew He was coming back. I knew that I was in for a terrible revelation when he did.

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Please, please, please, please, please, please REVIEW! Thanks. Hope you liked it!


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Here's the first chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Harry. Potter. D:

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Ch. 1:

Mum and Dad weren't sure that I'd get accepted into Hogwarts. I never showed any promising signs of real magic before I turned eleven, at least not much.

"She could be a Squib," Mum told Dad. "That's OK." Of course that was OK with my parents. We're not a snooty pureblood family that cares nothing for Muggles. Mum's own parents were Muggles.

"Or maybe she's just a little late to catch on," Dad said at my stricken expression. "We'll wait and see."

Wait we did. For almost eleven years we waited. While my witch and wizard friends were "accidentally" doing magic, I sat out. There were no signs of my being a witch and so when the letter arrived, it laid forgotten on the table like the rest of the mail for a whole day—Dad had finally given up on putting our incoming mail through any sort of organizational method—before Mum noticed who it was sent from.

"Hogwarts!" She shrieked, "Hank, Sade, there's a letter from Hogwarts here!" As Dad and I came skidding into the kitchen, Mum opened the envelope with shaking fingers.

"What does it say, April, dear?" Dad asked. He glanced up at the clock. It read, Time-To-Get-To-Work-Hank.

"It's a...she's a..." Mum was nearly in tears, which wasn't very unusual for my eccentric, emotional mother. "Sadie, you're going to Hogwarts!" And then she danced around the kitchen happily with me while Dad looked on, half-grinning, half-grimacing.

"We'll go to Diagon Alley next week, my dears," Dad said. "Now I must get to work. But, congratulations, Sadie. I'm very proud."

While Mum was slightly crazy, Dad was the complete opposite. Maybe he was the reason why my half-blood family got by so well in the wizarding world: he had a good job at the Ministry—he always looked at Mum with frustration whenever she went off on one of her anti-Ministry tangents—in the Department for International Magical Cooperation. He was serious and hard-working and dependable to turn up for work on time all of the time.

"Oh, yes! Won't that be fun!" Mum shooed Dad out the door. "Go to work, dear. I can see your getting antsy."

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I had been to Diagon Alley many times before but as I traveled with our bowl of floo powder to the wizard street, I looked at it with new appreciation.

Many other kids were hurrying around Diagon Alley with their parents, noses pressed to windows and lugging cauldrons and books. I was a witch now. I was part of the world that I had grown up in and I was one of the people I had hung around my whole life.

Mum, Dad, and I shopped for all of my books and then went into Ollivander's Wand Shop. A dark haired, green eyed boy had just left, followed by a giant.

"Hello, Hagrid!" Mum said, waving to the giant.

"April! 'ow are yeh?" Hagrid came and clasped Mum's hand. "And this gotta be Sadie, yer daughter?" Mum nodded. "Hi, Sadie. I'm Rubeus Hagrid. I work at 'ogwarts."

"Hagrid and I were good friends when I was in school," Mum explained to Dad and me. "And who is this, Hagrid?" She was pointing at the boy in front of us who had just left.

"April, that's 'arry. Harry Potter, James' an' Lily's boy!" Hagrid introduced, clapping Harry on the shoulder. I blinked. _The_ Harry Potter! "He'll be a first year too. 'arry, this 's Sadie. She's new to 'ogwarts, aren't yeh?" He grinned at me. "Well, we better be goin'. G'bye, April. I'll see yeh at school, Sadie!"

"Bye, Hagrid. Nice to meet you, Harry!" Mum extended her hand as if she wanted to touch the boy-who-lived but then pulled back.

When they had gone, Mum nodded to Dad and me. "That poor, poor boy," she said. "Do be kind to him, Sade. He has given the whole world a gift by killing You-Know-Who, and yet he hasn't gotten a single thing in return." Dad and I looked at Mum in astonishment.

"Yes, April. A wise thing to say, dear. Of course, I'm sure that Sadie will be plenty nice to him, huh Sade?" Dad gave me one of his specialty looks.

"Yes, Dad!" I trilled.

And then Mr. Ollivander came out.

He was an old man, older than my own grandfather, it seemed. He had a scruffy beard and wrinkled, leathery skin. His eyes were light and carefully observant.

"Hello," he said. "Are you in here for a wand? First year Hogwarts student?"

I nodded.

"Great, then. Let's see. I'll just..." And faster than I thought a man of his age possible of going, he was beside me with an enchanted tape measure getting my arm length and a pen scribbling it down midair. "OK. Let us try...ah!" He shuffled around the stacks of boxes and pulled one down. "Cherry, unicorn hair, nine and a half inches." He handed me a light stick that was slightly reddish tinted. "Go on then, wave it around!"

I flicked the wand like I'd seen my parents do...and nothing happened.

"No problem, no problem!" Mr. Ollivander cried. "Another one, then." And we went through this process until finally: "Cedar, dragon heart string, ten and three quarters inches. Try this one."

I pulled the wand out of the box as gently as all of the other ones and then slowly waved it around, feeling rather foolish. Bright green sparks flew out of it, followed by bright red sparks.

"Oh. My. Well, this is your wand. It has chosen you!" Said Mr. Ollivander.

I looked down at the cedar wood. It was light and smooth. As I looked up towards me parents, they exchanged uneasy glances. Before I could ask them the problem, a fiery red bullet streaked into me.

"Sadie!" Ginny Weasley cried, throwing her arms around my waist. "Hi, Sade!"

"Hello, Ginny! Is your family shopping for supplies today, too?"

"Yes," Ginny huffed and I shot her a sympathetic smile. I knew what her problem was. It had been her problem ever since Percy had gone off to Hogwarts without her.

"Only one more year and we can be in Gryffindor together," I told her enthusiastically.

My father's—including him—family, pure-bloods, had all been in Gryffindor. My mother and her Muggle-born sister had both been in Gryffindor. They had assured me countless times that I was made to be in Gryffindor, that I had the lineage, the attitude, and the bravery. There was no way, I told myself whenever I worried about being put into another House, that the sorter—however they did it—would think it best that I wasn't a Gryffindor.

"Yes, I know. But now Ron's going and I'll be at home all alone with Mum and Dad." She rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of Ron," I started, "Where is he? Shouldn't he buy a wand?"

Ginny blushed. "Uh...well. Ron's not getting a brand new wand. He's going to use Charlie's. There's just...we have so much other stuff we need..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

"Ya. I understand," I told her but truthfully, I really didn't. The only thing that Mum and Dad couldn't afford was the newest broomstick model, no matter how many times I begged them to buy the Nimbus 2000. It was no trouble to get a wand or all of the books or new school robes.

"Uh huh. Well, Mum's probably worrying 'bout me, right?" Ginny giggled and took on Molly Weasley's tempered voice. "Ginerva Weasley, you run off, out of the blue! You could've been down Knockturn Alley for all I know—no, Fred, George! You come back here right now, boys! Yes, Arthur, I do see the Muggles over there. No, I do not think you should go talk to them!" We both cracked up in laughter at her spot-on interpretation of the hassled mother. The hassled mother who was coming up to Ginny with a very annoyed expression on her face.

"Ginerva Weasley, you run off..." She began and I ducked out of the shop quickly.

"Sade, hon, look here. Isn't this a nice handbag?" Mum held up a tiled purse. I took it from her and it bit me. I shrieked. "Yes, that's the point of it, Sadie!" Mum said hurriedly, pulling it back. "It'll bite anyone who doesn't own it."

"Oh, April!" Dad sighed impatiently. "I thought you already had one of those bags?"

"Yes, I do, Hank. But this one is even better. It—OW!" She threw the bag on the ground. "B-but it _specifically_ said 'doesn't bite owner'!" She crowed.

Dad and I laughed a little.

"What else have you got, Sade?" Dad asked. "Do you have all of your books and robes...and I've gotten your—yes. Hmm. April, did you pick up Sadie's cauldron?"

Mum grimaced. "I'll get it!" She scurried off.

"Right then, Sade. Do you want to buy an ice cream? Maybe Ginny wants one, too?" He looked over at a trembling Ginny and her mother.

"Yes, please." I ran to retrieve my friend and we ate at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

The rest of Weasleys soon followed and I was surrounded by the red-haired, freckled clan.

It was, overall, a very nice day.

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Mum and Dad took me to Platform Nine ¾ at 10:30 so that we wouldn't be late. Dad hoisted all of my luggage onto the scarlet train as Mum cried, hugging me close to her.

"M-my...little g-girl!" She sobbed. "Going off to Hogwarts. Oh, what happened...so old! My goodness! Oh, Hank! This is...so...amazing! Sade, you are so beautiful, my gorgeous little Sadie!" I was relieved when I saw Ginny and her parents and brothers come onto the platform. Behind them came none other than...Harry Potter! I strained my eyes to see his scar. I'd heard of it countless times: the only damage You-Know-Who did to the tiny, green-eyed baby was a small lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.

But my best friend interrupted me as she bareled into the compartment I was in. "This is it, Sadie!" Screamed Lavender Brown. "We are going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! We are going!" Her curly, dark blond hair bounced as she jumped up and down. She grinned at me.

I looked out of the window again quickly but Harry Potter wasn't there.

"The train's going to leave soon, Mr. and Mrs. Baldock. It's nearly 11!" Lavender told my parents.

Mum and Dad hugged me and wished me a good year. "We'll see you at the break, Sade!" Dad called as he ushered my sobbing mother off of the train. "Bye Sadie!"

"Bye, Dad! Bye, Mum!"

And the train rolled away. Away from Mum and Dad. Away from Platform 9 ¾. Away from my old, non-magical life and into a new life that included my very own wand and other witches and wizards that were my age.

I sighed and sat down to wait for when we'd roll into Hogsmeade Station next to my best friend and next to girls that I'd never met before but introduced themselves—twins, Padma and Parvati Patil—and, as I pressed my nose to the window to glimpse the country-side, I knew things that were going to change.

I didn't know _how much _they were going to change, though. I could never have guessed.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks so, so, so much for reading this! You really have no idea how much it means to me. Anyways, sorry it took me a little longer to get this up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Why not? Because...well, unfortunately I didn't write the books or the movies. So I don't own anything.

Ch. 2:

Hogwarts Castle was really a sight to behold. In the darkness, there were thousands of tiny lights illuminated inside of the arched windows. Turrets spiraled up towards the starry sky and the building was bigger than anything I had seen.

The grounds were spectacular, too. There was a great lake, which we were sailing on now. In one direction lay a dense, dark forest. Rolling grass fields surrounded the castle and vibrant gardens sat tended beside greenhouses.

My breath caught in my throat and all of the first years looked on in wide-eyed amazement. "Amazing," I breathed to Lavender. She smiled lightly at me and, at Hagrid's instruction, we stepped into the boats.

"Everyone is?" Hagrid asked, his bellowing voice echoing around the clearing. "Right then—FORWARD!" The boats all trembled a little and then glided forward. "Heads down!" We all ducked as the boats passed inside of a cave, still floating magically. "Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid held up a spotted toad.

"Trevor!" A round-faced boy cried. I remembered him coming into our compartment with another girl, looking for a lost toad. Good, I thought, he found it. I couldn't imagine how horrible it would be to loose your pet on the first day of school.

We went up some steps and then arrived in front of a large front door. "Everyone here?" Hagrid asked. "You there, still got yer toad?" The boy nodded quickly and Hagrid knocked once, twice, three times on the giant door.

It was opened by a witch wearing emerald-green robes and a stern expression.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid told her.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She had a low voice that, though quiet, carried to all of us.

As she pulled the door open wider, the entrance hall became visible. It was huge.

We hurried through the entry and down into a small room. In the room beside us, we could hear hundreds of other students shuffling inside.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony-" She went on to explain the Houses, all stuff I had heard. Eventually, she said, "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly."

A few people began chattering nervously—Harry Potter talked to Ron, Ginny's older brother—and Lavender turned to me.

"Do you know how they Sort us?" She asked, even though we had gone over this multiple times. It was something that most parents liked to keep a secret from their children so that it would be a surprise on their first night at school.

I screamed suddenly as two dozen ghosts flew into the room. They barely looked at us first years, talking amongst themselves instead.

A few ghosts whispered with the students quickly until Professor McGonagall arrived back into the room. The only thing I could hear then was, "Now, form a line. And follow me."

I followed Lavender out on shaky legs and soon found myself in front of a great room. It was huge, bigger even the entry hall. There were tons of candles all floating above four tables. Golden reflected everywhere from goblets and plates. There was also a table at the front of the room, where all of the teachers sat. We were standing there.

Professor McGonagall set a stool in front of us all and on top it sat a dirty hat.

The hat started to sing.

Now, as a wizard-raised witch, I had seen some strange things. But never had I ever noticed a singing hat. I was so startled that I didn't even hear the words, just something about the four houses.

As the whole hall began clapping after the hat ended the song, it _bowed_ to each table.

"When I call your name," said Professor McGonagall, "You will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted."

"Abbot, Hannah!" Called the Professor. A girl staggered out of the zigzag line of eleven-year-olds and threw the hat over her head. Almost immediately, it called: "HUFFLEPUFF!"

I really, really, really wished that I had a last name that started with a letter much later in the alphabet. Something like Zurich. Something other than Baldock. Because I was called right after the Hufflepuff Hannah. "Baldock, Sadie!"

I hurried over to the stool, feeling the entire school's eyes on me. Was I shaking? I couldn't feel anything other than the dim light of the candles. I tripped a little and blushed bright red. Oh, Merlin, why couldn't I be at home in my bedroom where nobody was staring at me? I thumped down onto the stool and put on the hat.

Immediately, it began talking to me. "Oh, my," it said in a raspy whisper. "My, my, look at that lineage. Related to...my, my. So where would that put you?"

_Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor!, _I silently prayed. _Please let me in Gryffindor!_

"You want to be in Gryffindor? But is that best for you? Will that make you the most powerful witch? What would your father want? What your your ancestor want? Slytherin or Gryffindor?" I froze under the hat. Not Slytherin. Never Slytherin. I'm not...I had to be in Gryffindor! My whole family had been Gryffindors. "But no," said the hat. "That is not true. Do you know that? Do you know who your father is? Your mother? I think that you will be in-"

"SLYTHERIN!"

I felt numb. Slytherin? But...I was no Slytherin. My family didn't have any Slytherin friends. Lavender wouldn't be a Slytherin, I was sure. Why? Why? What about my...lineage, it had talked about?

I pulled the hat off of my head slowly and took in the hall. The green and silver clapped, waving me over. Everybody else looked at me. In disgust. I was the slimy, the self-orientated, the Dark wizard...I was a Slytherin. I couldn't...

I stumbled down to the Slytherin table, unable to look at Lavender or any of the Weasleys. What had happened?

I barely tuned in when Lavender, who was a few people after me. "Brown, Lavender!" Professor McGonagall called and I looked up at my trembling best friend. She was, in turn, looking at me. She seemed terribly confused.

Almost immediately after she set the hat on her head, it called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

So we—Sadie Baldock and Lavender Brown, best friends since forever—were apart.

Harry Potter, I noticed, also went to Gryffindor. Of course he would. He destroyed You-Know-Who. He was so brave.

Ron Weasley joined the rest of the Weasleys in Gryffindor, too—lucky boy.

Albus Dumbledore stood up and cried, "Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. Before we start, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."

I laughed and clapped politely.

We ate supper and it was every bit as good as Mum said it'd be—one of the only things that she had told me about Hogwarts was how good the meals were—and then Dumbledore said a few more words, this time in the form of an actual speech.

As everyone else sang the school song, I sat there in silence. I sat there in silence at the _Slytherin table_.

As we all followed the Prefects out of the hall and down cold stone steps, I thought about my most recent placement.

I knew I was overreacting. It was just a different House than the one I wanted. So what if it was the enemy of Gryffindor? Mum and Dad would still be glad I was at Hogwarts. And surely not all of the Slytherins were bad.

We descended far into the depths of the castle. I thought about the Gryffindor common room. Mum had told me about it in her excited manner.

"_And, Sade, it's warm. There's a nice fire in one corner and tons of couches and little tables to do your homework on-"_

"_You will do your homework, Sadie!" Dad had interrupted sternly and Mum laughed._

"_Of course she will, Hank. Sade is a good girl, aren't you, dear? But it's in a tower and there are comfy beds in your own room with other kids in your year. And you get so close to your dormmates. I'm still such good friends with Matilda and we were in a dorm together, weren't we, Hank, dear?" _

I missed Mum and Dad already. I'd only been away for a few hours and I was already getting weepy. I had to suck it up.

I'd never heard of anyone getting transferred out of their House and so I was just a Slytherin. The hat had said that's where I belonged...so that's where I was.

Another first-year, Tracey Davis, looked to me. "Hello. I'm Tracey. You're a first-year, too, right?" I nodded. "Good. My whole family's been in Slytherin. We're purebloods, of course."

I blinked. "Uh huh." I didn't know what to say and eventually Tracey moved away from me.

"Hello, Pansy!" I heard her say to another girl. I continued along the corridor, eventually descending down into the dungeons.

"The Slytherin common room is just down this hallway," said a prefect. "The password changes every fortnight, so be sure to check out the bulletin board." He sneered. "Otherwise you won't be let in."

I thought about Mum telling me about all of times that she'd forgotten the Gryffindor password. But instead of just getting locked out, people let her in. _Gryffindors_ let her in. I didn't think that the Slytherins would show me the same courtesy.

"The password now is 'Dark Magic'. Remember, Dark Magic!" All of a sudden, a wall shuddered and the bricks pulled apart, revealing an archway. The prefect stepped through the doorway and after a moments hesitation, all of the first years followed him.

I entered the common room and pulled up short. It was large and there was a lot of silver and green. A fireplace took center stage in the room but it didn't have a fire crackling in it. There were seats, all green and leather. A few bookshelves lined the walls but there weren't very many books on them and those that were stacked there seemed kind of menacing—I could just make out titles such as "101 Curses" and "Martin's Listing of Dark Wizards and Witches and the Accomplishments".

"Welcome to the Slytherin common room!" Said the prefect. "Girls, up that staircase on the right, boys, the staircase on the left. First years dorms are the first door going up the steps."

I took a deep breath and started towards the spiraling staircase. A tall boy stepped in front of me. He had blond hair and a constant sneer. "You aren't going to bed yet, are you?" He laughed. "Father tells me that there are tons of cool things to find in the common room. Of course, I know where they are because he already told me but it doesn't seem like _you _know. Who are you, by the way? I'm Draco Malfoy. My father is Lucius Malfoy. You probably know him; he's very close to the Minister of Magic."

Sure enough, I did know of the Malfoys. However, what I did know of them was nothing good. Mum was a "mudblood" to them and they had never hesitated to point it out...when they bothered to notice us, that is. Dad had to work with the Malfoys sometimes but he didn't like them—they were snobby, rich pure-bloods who had no respect for the four fifths of the wizarding world that weren't old families.

Looking at Draco, I could tell that everything Mum and Dad had told me was true. He seemed smug to be ridiculing me for sleeping early.

But I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and I had traveled all day...plus I wanted to get to the room before the rest of my dorm mates came in.

But I knew that Draco wasn't someone to cross. "I'm Sadie-" I didn't say my last name in case he knew who I was "-and I just want to make sure that they got all of my luggage up there. I would be very angry if it was damaged. There are some expensive items in there!"

"Hmm...like what?" Asked Draco.

I knew that Draco wouldn't have the same opinion about what was pricy as me and so I blurted out the first thing I could think of that might impress him: "My broom, of course!"

He raised his eyebrows and his eyes widened. "You snuck a broom in? How did you do that?"

How _would _ do that, I wondered. I couldn't think of anything so I just smiled and shrugged. "It was easy."

He grinned at me. "Well, that's cool. Well, Sadie. Go check on your broomstick. I'd like to fly on it sometime. Maybe I could convince Father to send me my broom."

I hurried off and up to my room. I didn't actually have a broomstick with me, of course. I loved Quidditch and I had a broom at home but Dad wouldn't let me try to sneak it into Hogwarts.

I decided to put the problem I'd just set up for myself at the back of my mind and sat down on a bed. Sure enough, my trunk was by the huge four-poster mattress. I didn't bother to check to make sure that all of my stuff was OK; there wasn't really anything worth too much that I'd be upset if it broke.

Eventually, I got bored in the dorm and went out to the hall again. I went up the steps to some of the older years dorms and them to the very top of the staircase. I was on a small landing with a window that was in the middle of the lake. I pressed my nose against the glass and watched the murky water flow freely.

Just as I was getting ready to go back to the dorm, I heard a movement. "Hello?" I called. There was no answer.

I crept to the staircase, worried I'd find some couple in liplock. That'd be embarrassing.

Instead, I came face to face with someone else.

Well, it was face to mask. They were wearing a black mask that made me shiver. I thought of Death Eaters and their masks. I was in the House that so many had been raised in. What if...?

I squealed and hopped back. They didn't say anything. I saw a gloved hand pull out of their robes and I instinctively ducked, worried a curse was about to be sent at my head. Thankfully they didn't take out a wand but a little book. The hand held it out to me.

Hesitantly, I took it from them. In one corner, there was a name: Tom Riddle.

"What is this?" I asked quietly. The figure shook it's head. Then they drew out a wand I flinched back. A wand emerged but they didn't point it at me; it was flicked at the book and the pages flew open, as if a wind was blowing at it. I didn't see any words on any of the pages—they were all blank. And then it stopped on a blank page just like the others. But a few seconds later, ink appeared and spread out to form words:

_The. _

_Dark._

_Lord. _

_Will. _

_Return._

I felt myself flooded with fear. What was this...some kind of a sick joke? I wasn't laughing! I was terrified. I looked up at the masked person, horrified. They didn't move, just stood there staring at the book.

I glance back at it and nearly jumped. There were more words appearing.

_Dad's._

_Out. _

_There. _

There was a minute of stillness and then the gloved hand reached out and snatched the book from my hand.

I was left there, as they turned around and ran down the stair, in utter confusion.

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Hope you liked!


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: So here is the third chapter. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't be writing a Fanfic—I'd be writing another book! So obviously, I don't own anything Harry Potter.

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Ch. 3

The first few days at Hogwarts flew by incredibly fast. My favorite teacher so far was Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher. He constantly praised me on my wand work. I was more than a little surprised; after not having any magic before I came to school, I was showing a lot of potential.

I somehow managed to avoid Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins and the Weasleys. I was coasting through the middle, embarrassed to be a Slytherin and embarrassed to talk with one of my friends from home.

What I couldn't avoid, or forget, was the book. "The Dark Lord will return. Dad's out there"? It was extremely ominous.

It was also confusing. I mean, the first part—You-Know-Who would come back to life—was pretty straight forward, but I couldn't think what in the world the "Dad's out there" meant. Of course, my father was out there. Hank Baldock was right where he was supposed to be: at home with Mum.

As I was thinking about my parents, a light brown owl came swooping onto the table in front of me.

"Mickey!" I grinned. Mickey was my family's long-distance owl and we had formed some sort of bond. It involved tons of treats and lots of biting but I imagined that he had some kind of affection for me. "Hey, you handsome owl!" He preened his feathers importantly and I laughed. Some Slytherins looked down the table at me in disgust but I was too focused on my owl to really care. As I tried to untie the parcel on his leg, he snapped at me. "Ow! Fine, fine." I held out a piece of toast and he ate it quickly. Finally, I got the envelope off of him and he soared away to the owlery to recover.

It was to me, from Mum and Dad. I sighed and stuffed it into my bag. I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear their reaction to my House placement.

Breakfast didn't taste very good as I tried to finish it off and the walk back to the common room seemed to take forever. Finally, I arrived.

Pansy Parkinson was alone in the dorm. She barely glanced at me as I came into the room and hurried to my bed. I drew the curtains shut and then ripped open the envelope.

_Dear Sadie,_

_Congratulations on arriving at Hogwarts. Your Mum and I dearly hope you enjoy your classes. Don't forget to let Mickey rest for a day or so and then send him back to us. Be good. _

_Sincerely,_

_Dad and Mum_

It was so short. So impersonal. They didn't gush about how beautiful the grounds were and how much they missed the castle and how they so wanted to be there with me and they were very proud to be my parents and glad I made it into Slytherin, even if it wasn't Gryffindor. They didn't tell me they loved me or that they missed me. Did they miss me? I really missed them, that was for sure.  
I could feel tears welling in my eyes and I blinked them back angrily. I was positive that they were ashamed that their sweet, good daughter was a Slytherin. I bet they were dreading having me back for the holidays. They didn't like any of the Slytherins—why should I be an exception?

I slipped it into my trunk and threw clothes over it. Pansy had left, probably to go bully some Ravenclaw kid with her friends. I gritted my teeth; yet another problem was that I didn't connect with any of my dorm mates. I highly doubted that we'd be BFFs like Mum and Matilda were.

It was a Saturday so I went out on to the grounds. I thought about visiting Hagrid but decided against it. He wouldn't want a _slimy_ Slytherin invading his home. Instead, I just headed out in a random direction.

I had been walking for about ten minutes, around the castle, when I ran into Harry Potter. He was walking with Ron and seemed engrossed in the subject of Quidditch. I nearly made it past them until Ron spun around, his face slightly pale as he confronted me.

"Sadie!" He called. "Wait. Um...Ginny asked me to give this to you. I don't know why she couldn't just send it to you herself," he grumbled. "Here!" He thrust an envelope into my hands and I looked down on it with horror. I didn't want two "you're-a-Slytherin-we-are-so-disappointed" notes in one day.

"Um, thanks, Ron," I said reluctantly. We stood there awkwardly, Harry examining me.

"Well, bye!" Ron dragged Harry away quickly and I just barely heard the beginning of their conversation.

"She's my sister's friend. Well, _was_. Dunno if they'll be close when Ginny finds out about her House."

So Ginny didn't know I was a Slytherin? Well, at least I'd have one normal letter before I had to tell her that I was a Slytherin and that we were never, ever going to be Gryffindors together.

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I waited the whole day to read the letter, mostly because, after my walk, I was so swamped in homework. A bushy-haired Gryffindor girl and I were practically the only people in the library on Saturday; other students were obviously procrastinating. But I really wanted a reason to busy myself so that I didn't have to read the note from Ginny.

"Um..." Said the other girl. She was standing at my shoulder with a pained expression on her face. "Did you copy down the assignment for Potions? I was so caught up in mixing the solution that I never got a chance to and Professor Snape asked me to leave before I could get it and...I'm sorry but I really would like to start it and seeing as how you're in my class..." She was bright red. "I normally do write it, of course!"

"Uh, ya." And that was the beginning of my unsteady relationship with Hermione Granger.

Hermione and I mostly talked in the library, comparing notes or whatnot.

But while Hermione was talking to me civilly, my _best friend_ was completely ignoring me. Eventually I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Lavender!" I called. She was walking with one of the twins from the train and they both turned. "Please, can I talk to you?"

"You go on ahead, Parvati," Lavender told the girl. Parvati seemed like she'd argue, but then she shrugged and smiled tightly at Lavender, walking ahead.

"Why didn't you get Sorted into Gryffindor, Sadie?" She asked bluntly. I bit my lip.

"I don't know, Lavender. I wanted to be a Gryffindor but-"

"But you're a mean bully who doesn't like Muggle-borns!" She cried. My jaw dropped.

"Wh-What do you mean by that?" I asked her defensively.

"I know what you and the other girls in your dorm do to other students—other people who aren't Slytherins like _you!_" She said, her mouth pressed firmly.

"I never!" I argued. "I'm not friends with Pansy or anybody else in Slytherin. _I'm_ all alone in there, Lavender! You don't know how it is."

"What, you think I'm not alone?" She scoffed. "I didn't have my best friend going into this! You said we'd be in Gryffindor together. Don't you remember that? But instead you chose Slytherin!"

I ground my teeth together. "Are you serious? You think I chose to be a Slytherin? None of my friends are in that House. My whole family doesn't like them. The Slytherins don't like me and I never met any of them before I came here! You think you're alone? Well, at least you have people you grew up with! And anyways, obviously you have friends. I mean, who was that Parvati girl?"

"My _new best friend!_" Lavender shrieked and I felt like she'd hit me in the gut.

"Well good!" I yelled. "At least you have someone to take your attention off of me because I don't think I could stand if my Slytherin friends saw me with you!"

When I looked back on it, I really saw it for what it was: a stupid, eleven-year-old argument. But neither of us apologized.

Lavender had a new best friend and I had to find a new one because I sure wasn't going to apologize to that annoying Gryffindor.

At least, that's what I thought then. But when I really did figure out how much I missed Lavender, it was seven years later when she was killed by a werewolf. And then, it was impossible to tell her how sorry I was.

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When I finally got around to reading—in other words, when I worked up the courage to read—Ginny's letter, I was, in some ways so happy. And in other ways, I was intensely disappointed and sad.

_You lucky, lucky, lucky girl Sadie!_

_HOW IS HOGWARTS? I am so jealous and I want to be there with you so badly. I bet you're having tons of fun! What are you doing? What's your favorite class? Ron penned home and said he liked Defense Against the Dark Arts the most. Well, he says that the teacher isn't great but the class could turn out to be more interesting. He says that the Potions teacher is sooo mean. Is he mean to all of the Gryffindors like Ron says or just him because he's so dull? Haha, don't tell Ron I said that. _

_Are you friends with Harry Potter? Is he nice? Does he remember The Night that You-Know-Who came? Oh, I wish I could talk to him. He must be so amazing, right? _

_Please, please tell me about the Sorting. Nobody at home gives me any information and I am worried sick for next year! Will I have to do a spell? (Please just give me one tiny clue so that I can practice. You do want me to be in Gryffindor with you, don't you?) _

_Alright, well I suppose I'm writing quite a bit too much. Mum says that I'm going to bore you into jumping into the lake (DON'T do that! By the way, is there really a giant squid there?) Miss you a ton!_

_With love,_

_Ginny_

I stared at the letter for a good ten minutes. It was so sweet and so excitable and just so Ginny Weasley.

But it was also misinformed. And that made me wonder if she'd even be writing if she knew I was a Slytherin.

I sighed and folded up the parchment. I'd write her back later, I decided.

"It's Sadie, isn't it?" A voice made me look up and I was staring at the narrow face of Draco Malfoy. Oh, no...

"Uh, ya. Hi Draco."

He looked pleased that I remembered his first name. "Hello, Sadie. How is the broom? You didn't get caught with it, right?"

I shooke my head. "No, no. 'Course not. But it's really not right to ride it now. I haven't maintained it in a while. Busy with other stuff, you know?"

He nodded. "McGonagall is just going to far with the homework. Of course, I wouldn't expect anything different from a teacher like _her_." He didn't elaborate on what the Transfiguration teacher was like.

"Hello, Draco!" Pansy came sidling up to us. She smiled up at him.

"Hello, Pansy. You know Sadie, right?"

She glanced at me. "Uh...ya. Of course. She's in my dorm. We're great friends. Hi, Sadie!"

"Hello, Pansy," I said reluctantly.

"So, Draco, I was wondering-"

Draco interrupted her. "Sadie smuggled a broom in!"

She looked crossly down at me. "Wow."

"Uh huh! It's great! We can play Quidditch." So apparently Draco Malfoy was a Quidditch fan too. Well, at least there was one thing that wasn't miserably terrible about him.

"Ya, ya, but like I said, it's not ready right now. I haven't clipped the tail twigs since I was home. I can't imagine how it would fly if we took it out now." I shrugged helplessly.

"Oh. Whatever. Maybe I'll find someone else that has a broom," Draco conceded. "Anyways, Pansy, I saw some Ickle Hufflepuffs in the library. They were just begging to get hexed."

Pansy smiled maliciously, her eyes sparkling with untold eagerness. "Why, thank you for letting me know, Draco. I think I'll go and answer their calls. Wanna come along?" She was looking at both Draco and me. I blinked.

Before the incident with Lavender, I would've said no. But now I didn't have _any_ friends. And Pansy was my dorm mate. I promised myself that I wouldn't actively hurt anyone. And if the Slytherins went too far, I'd stop them. So, I could come just for the purpose of improving my relationship with the Slytherins. I wasn't doing anything wrong—in fact, if anything, it was better that I was there to help the victim if they needed it.

Right?

Well, that's what I told myself. "Ya, sure," I said. Both Draco and Pansy looked surprised.

"Really? OK, well, I'm going to go get Millicent, Daphne, and Tracy. I don't think they'd want to miss teaching some annoying Hufflepuffs a lesson."

She was back in a minute from our dorm with the girls trailing behind her. As they all headed out into the passage outside of the common room, I followed.

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"Well, this clumsy blood traitor is good enough to hex!" Cried Pansy. We were standing in front of Neville Longbottom.

I'd never met him before I came to Hogwarts but I had heard about him. His parents were both tortured into insanity by Death Eaters—probably by one of my dorm mate's parents, knowing the Slytherin House—and he lived with his grandmother. Mum and Dad had always told me to be nice to him.

I _knew_ this wasn't counted as nice.

"Silly little Longbottom, are you trying to run from us?" Cooed Pansy as we followed Neville around a corner from the library. Sure enough, he was hurrying away from the library. A bad move, I thought. If he'd just stayed where there were a ton of other people who could get us into trouble, I doubted that Pansy or Draco would curse him. But we were all alone now. "I think we should stop him, don't you, Draco?" She giggled as Draco pointed his wand at Neville.

My breath came in ragged bursts. Oh, Merlin!

"Locomotor Mortis!" Shouted Draco and a flash of purple light erupted out of his wand and at Neville. His legs shook and then flew together. They were stuck with the leg-locker curse.

Neville looked down, wide-eyed and panicked. Then he began hopping down the corridor, as fast as he could. He fell once and struggled to get back up, and then continued.

The Slytherins were all cracking up, leaning against the walls with tears in their eyes.

"Haha, that-was-great!" Huffed Daphne Greengrass. "Did you see him fall? It was priceless!"

"Ya!" Laughed Tracey. "Let's go after him some more."

"Nah, I think we should let him hop back to the Gryffindor common room, all alone, worrying whether we'll come after him. That'll be fine," Draco said and all of the girls were quick to agree.

I added in half-heartedly, "Sure. That's funnier."

The only good thing about that afternoon was that the rest of the first-year Slytherins seemed to accept me after that. They not only didn't completely ignore me in the dorm, they actually talked to me and laughed with—not at—me and were just generally nice to me.

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I hope you liked it!


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: So here is the fourth chapter. I hope you like it! Thanks so much for reviewing and following and everything. This is only my second story on the site, so it means a lot. Please, please just keep reviewing and giving me ways that I can improve it.

Citrina pointed out that Tracey was a half-blood and I said she was a pure-blood. I am so sorry about that. Thanks for letting me know!

Also, I changed the name of this story (used to be "Sadie: Daughter of Lord Voldemort") to "Dad's Out There". I really didn't like the old name much so maybe the new name will be a little better. That was all I changed, though.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter—neither the movies (which would be cool) or the books (which would be awesome)!

-MM

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Ch. 4

It was a Thursday when I finished my first, absolutely perfect potion. It was the Antidote of Common Poisons. And, while I couldn't think of anytime I might need to be cured of simpler poisons, I was still proud that I'd done it.

"Good job," said Professor Snape, bending over my cauldron. "If you'll look at Miss Baldock's potion, you'll notice that it is a teal color. And this..." He walked over to Ron Weasley's potion. "Clearly doesn't look bluish in the slight. Five points to Slytherin, for Miss Baldock's exemplary potion. Ten points from Gryffindor for Mr. Weasley's carelessness. Read the instructions!" Professor Snape barked.

As I looked over at Ron's bright pink potion, I figured that he hadn't stirred the solution twice, clockwise.

Ron himself was bright red and glaring at Professor Snape's back with loathing. "That git!" He whispered to Harry and Professor Snape spun around, his cloak swooshing.

"What's that, Potter?" He snarled. Harry cringed next to Ron. "Five points from Gryffindor. Now, back to work!" The Slytherins around me laughed.

Everyone in the room—including the professor—knew that Professor Snape knew that it was Ron who had talked. But everyone also knew that Professor Snape absolutely hated Harry and would pick on him whenever given the chance.

Hermione finished her potion perfectly but Professor Snape didn't praise her at all.

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That night, instead of hanging out with the Slytherin first years in the common room, I went up to the great window at the top of the staircase. I had been back there a few times since my first night and I'd never run into anyone. I'd decided that it was a nice place to think and be alone.

I'd dragged a chair to the little room and was sitting in it now, day dreaming about nothing in particular. All of a sudden, there was a slight rumble. I looked down the stairs, but there wasn't anyone there. So I looked towards the window...

And saw a giant eye peering at me through the glass. I gasped and jumped up, my chair falling backwards. At first, I backed towards the stairs, worried that the window would break and let the monster in. But then I realized that the eye was attached to a body and from there, tentacles. It was the giant squid!

Few Slytherins had seen the squid through the window back down in the common room and I definitely never had. But here it was, pressed up against the small window at the top of the stairs.

"Merlin," I breathed, slowly going to the window. The giant squid wasn't just huge...it was ginormous. It's tentacles could have stretched the whole Slytherin common room and more. It's eye was as big as my head and the suckers were as wide as my hand. It was dark blue.

"Hello," I giggled. "You're the giant squid, huh? I've heard so much about you. Do you like living in the lake? It seems like it'd be quite cold. But you're probably used to it." I felt slightly foolish but knew that nobody would come up to my room to hear. "I'm Sadie. Sadie Baldock." The squid disappeared and I figured that it was done and that it would probably be the only time I'd ever see it, but then it appeared again and focused two big eyes on...me! It seemed like he was concentrating on me.

Well, this was a magic school, right?

I started talking again. "I'm Sadie. I'm a Slytherin. A...reluctant Slytherin, I guess. My whole family were all Gryffindors and so are all of my friends. I always thought I'd be a Gryffindor. I always wanted t be one. And then, well, I was Sorted into Slytherin! And I lost my best friend and now I hang out with these girls who are mean to other Hogwarts students. But that's not all..."

I sighed. "Well, a few weeks ago, the first time I ever saw this room, this person came up here, too. I had no idea who they were and they were wearing a mask! They gave me this book—or journal, I'm not sure; there was a name in the corner: Tom Riddle—and when it opened, there were words that said 'The Dark Lord's out there. Dad's out there'.

"Do you know who the Dark Lord was? You-Know-Who...I can't say his name."  
The squid didn't move as I told it all of this.

"And he killed a ton of people. You know, he was also a Slytherin. I wonder if he sat in this room and talked to you too and told you all about his plans to kill Muggles and Muggle-borns. He probably didn't...would've thought it was really weird, right?" And then, because I didn't want to talk about bad things like Dark wizards, I changed the subject. "Today I made my first good potion. I'd always messed up before but today I did even better than Hermione Granger. It was kind of a stupid potion—Antidote of Common Poisons—but I suppose if I get stung by a bee or something, I'll be OK." I laughed a little, realizing just how stupid it was that I was talking to a squid. I went downstairs to the common room and started in on my homework.

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Hallowe'en was absolutely gorgeous at Hogwarts. Candles lines the walls and floated inside of giant pumpkins that I had noticed Hagrid growing. Thousands of bats swooped around the ceiling. The ghosts floated around and there was so much food that I ate four servings. Just as I was starting on my fifth serving, Professor Quirrelll came running into the great hall, trembling and pale.

"Trolls—in the dungeons—thought you ought to know," he gasped, then fainted.

Someone screamed and then other people began crying out and Professor Dumbledore had to shoot purple firecrackers from his wand to quiet everyone down. "Prefects, lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately," he ordered.

The Slytherin prefects who had shown the first years around the on the first day stood up and ordered that everyone follow them, "else you'll be eaten by the troll and everyone will be glad that you're dead because you're a dumb git!" We all followed.

The prefects led us down towards the common room and just as we were nearly there, we all heard a loud crash coming from behind us, by Moaning Murtle's bathroom. The prefects seemed to pause as if they were going to give some sort of instruction, but then they took off down the corridor.

"Run!" Yelled a girl and I followed Tracy the first year down to the Slytherin common room. There were tons of pattering feet running around me and I followed them, sliding around corners, hoping that the troll didn't see the Slytherins.

Finally, we got to the wall safely, where someone gasped, "Curses!" The wall opened up and we all poured in.

I only looked up after I got situated in a seat. That's when I noticed that Daphne Greengrass wasn't there.

Draco also noticed and he pointed it out to Pansy. "Where'd Daphne go? She's not here. Ooh," he smirked. "I bet she got trampled by the troll."

Pansy paled and she scanned the room, with all of the Slytherins. Once she realized that her best friend wasn't there, she frowned. "Oh, Merlin. Well, she's done for. I'm not going to go save her. If she wants to get her arse kicked, I'll let her go do that on her own." She laughed but it was a worried one, and her eyes kept darting to the door.

If I had been with the Gryffindors, I was sure that half of the common room would've jumped up to go rescue the girl. That's what Gryffindors were, right? Brave and willing to help people.

Slytherins weren't and I was a Slytherin, according to the Sorting Hat. But I couldn't let Daphne get killed. I had to play Gryffindor for one minute and go save her.

I stood up and Pansy and Draco both looked up at me. "Sadie, you should stay here, in the common room. Don't you want to know when the troll's gone?"

"I'm not going to the dorm," I told them, "I have to go help Daphne. You can't just let a girl get clubbed to death because her friends were too scared to go after her." At their infuriated looks, I realized that I had gone a little too far.

"We're not scared!" Sneered Draco. "We just don't want to get stepped on by a huge, hairy leg. The teachers'll take care of it. Snape will help her. Besides, she's probably not in any danger. Ha! She's probably just off being an idiot." He seemed happy with that but I still moved towards the door.

"Well, I'll bet you're right. I'm still going to go get her. I'll see you," I said. Draco scowled, frustrated he wasn't the fearless one but to scared to go into the danger.

Not that I thought it'd be very dangerous. Sure, trolls were big and strong but they were also dumb and loud, easy for the teachers to find. The real risk would be getting Daphne without the professors catching me.

I left the common room and hurried along the corridor. It was eerily silent and I tried to reassure that there was no way that a twelve-foot—or however tall it was—troll could sneak up on me.

I was just turning a corner, looking for Daphne still, when I heard heavy footsteps. I froze, my heart racing. I craned my head around and saw the tiny Professor Quirrelll come barreling down the hall.

"But, my Lord! Severus knows about me, I am sure. He is onto me and will try to stop me," he whispered.

"The troll will distract them all for now, fool," hissed a rasping voice and I shivered violently. That was a terrible sound...it was like nails on a chalkboard, like a baby wailing, like a man's last breath. It sent spiders crawling down my arm and at the same time made my magic try to erupt out of me, warm and comforting. "Just keep going." It was an order.

Professor Quirrell passed by me and just when I thought that I was safe, the voice commanded, "Stop, you fool. There is a person nearby." Professor Quirrell stiffened and glanced around warily. I felt frozen in place and I couldn't breath even if I wanted to. I didn't blink, I didn't wobble and yet still Quirrell spotted me.

At least, I thought he had seen me. His eyes, pale blue, connected with mine and they narrowed maliciously. But then the voice growled, "Move on; leave it. Nothing matters but the Stone."

Professor Quirrell looked as if he'd argue but then he shook himself, eyes wide. "Y-yes, master." With one last parting glance, he moved on. "Was that her?"

"Yes, that is Sadie. Mine."

"She's called Sadie Baldock," whispered Professor Quirrell. "The pureblood Frank Baldock took her on, and a Muggle woman."

"Yes, yes."

That was the last I heard of that conversation and I stood there, pressed against the wall. A picture in front of me scowled at me. It hadn't been there before; the figure in the picture hadn't seen the exchange between the defense professor and the...voice.

"What are you doing out here, you first year?" Demanded the picture's occupant. "I heard Professor Dumbledore order all students back to the common room! I was in Lady Anavin's frame—it's in the Great Hall—so I know that you're not supposed to be out. Better go back or I'll report you. In fact, missy, I might just report you now!" She smiled meanly. "Yes, yes. What is your name, girl? I shall report you. I love to report students to my great, great grandson, Argus Filch. He is a brilliant-" I dashed away as the woman praised her descendent and then, when she noticed I was gone, screamed after me to come back.

"You'll be in for it!" She yelled as I skidded around a corner to smack into Daphne.

"Sadie?" She gasped. Her wand was gripped in her hand tightly and she looked ready to curse a shadow. "What are you doing here? There's a troll out and-"

"I know, Daphne. I came to get you. Where were you?"

"I didn't go to the feast right away; I was having tons of fun scaring these Ickle Ravenclaws. They were so sure that I was some Hallowe'en monster." She laughed loudly and I looked around wildly to make sure that no teachers were running towards us.

"Shh!" I ordered. "We'll get into trouble. We need to get back to the common room. I don't know where the troll is...it might hear us!" She paled and I gripped her hand, pulling her along.

It was the first time I had touched another Slytherin purposely, though I doubted that Daphne would've let me clench her hand like this under normal circumstances.

We fled through hallway after hallway, a few pictures yelling at us. We raced back to the common room and cried the password to let us in and collapsed inside. We were both breathing heavily.

We had just barely stumbled away from the doorway when it opened again and Professor Snape stepped out.

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Hope you liked. I kinda feel like this one wasn't very good but oh well. Sorry about that. I'll have a new chapter posted up later.


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